Folks watching NewsNight Akron on Western Reserve Public Media (yeah, that's the old PBS 45/49 for those of us not following at home) will hear continuing conversation on the Vietnam Memorial Park's bench.
It's been a banner week here with plenty of discussion over the role we give our elected officials. In Akron, it was sparked by the Akron Beacon Journal's Bob Dyer, first to point out the tasteless granite bench Akron provided for the Memorial Park in Clinton.
In the event you missed it, Bob's original story. In summation, Akron sent a bench with a quick toss-away line and Mayor Plusquellic's name while every other participating city took it as an opportunity to inspire and thank rather than extend the political brand.
Eric Mansfield, Phil Trexler, M.:L Schultze and I follow suit. I'll likely take some heat for comparing the rush to slap a politician's name on anything that doesn't move to a dog's desire to mark their territory. The thought stayed with me while driving to Akron this morning, coming through Macedonia (where Mayor Don Kuchta's name is on signs) through Cuyahoga Falls (where Mayor Don Robart's name is on signs) into Akron (where Mayor Don Plusquellic's name is on signs) and the studio.
Does anyone think we need the name of elected officials splattered on cars, park entrances, city limits, state lines or even gas pumps?
- - -
Some of this thinking plays out in my thoughts on President Obama's plans to address school kids next Tuesday; this webcast/cablecast comes the day before he addresses the rest of us on the subject of health care. Fox Television already says they won't carry the address, opting for entertainment instead. Here at Rubber City Radio, WAKR will carry the address thanks largely to the Indians having a night off. Otherwise, we would stream it.
When the President of the United States asks for time to talk directly to voters -- after all, we're the ones who decide who manages the country every four years -- we should clear the time. But in today's fractured media landscape one or two networks skipping the speech isn't the end of the world, although it does call to question that network commitment to helping the public stay informed. Between NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNN Headline, CNN Financial, CSPAN123, Fox News Television, radio and web I can't imagine anyone who wants to listen or watch is being denied.
Having landed in favor of airing the address, however, I do believe it's important to note why and accept others won't make the same call. Just because the President wants the time doesn't mean they should get the time. We established early on that America is a nation built on the concept of all of us are created equal (not just the men, by the way), and while it's taken us a long time to fully embrace that concept it really does mean ALL. That includes Presidents, Governors, Mayors, Senators -- all the way down the list. It is appropriate to ask we respect the office, even respect the person -- but to take it to the next level seen by politicians to splatter their name, image and cause in every aspect of our lives makes me uncomfortable.
We have a right to object to bowing down to any man (or woman) who expects it just because we elected them to manage our affairs. We've allowed the political class to use our parks, road signs, post offices and public buildings for their own personal branding for far too long, but until Dyer's column showcased the logical extension of that mindset it was easy for us to dismiss the cult of personality seemingly driving today's politics.
On Facebook recently I noted schools can't allow God through the door -- anybody's God -- so why is it acceptable for politicians to waltz right in? Seems to me kids should be learning how to read, and don't really need the President (or Governor, or Mayor) to get in their faces and remind them why they're in school.
A good friend weighed in that the President should get the chance because he's the President. That works when he's addressing a joint session of Congress, but to pull kids out of class to watch him on television? There's a uniquely American question to be asked when authority is used as an excuse: so what? Is that really enough of a reason to turn elementary school into another place to spread the political personal brand?
Showing posts with label Robart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robart. Show all posts
Friday, September 4, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The Bench
Here's a reason why it's important for strong, independent voices in the local media -- keywords here being strong and independent. Where else would someone point out the obvious that's been right under our noses?
Bob Dyer's column in Tuesday's Akron Beacon Journal describes a battle of benches in Clinton's Vietnam Memorial, specifically Akron's contribution. If you haven't seen the story, take the time to read it now. Take another minute to see the picture, which tells a thousand words by itself.
Imagine, as Bob notes, dozens of marble and granite benches bearing quotations of leadership, sacrifice and patriotism matched to Akron's entry -- bearing the name of the Mayor.
According to the article, the ball was dropped on South High Street by the high-thinking political types who must have imagined small-town Clinton was looking for the same thing we tolerate everyday driving into the City, passing parks and recreation areas. We've become numb to the flowering of the political name brand on the things owned by the taxpayers; we expect to see Don Plusquellic, or Don Robart, or Don Kuchta (in my neck of the woods) plastered on every entryway to the 'burg. The Man has his stamp of approval on a city or town or village as is royalty bestowed upon him the privilege of ruling the fiefdom rather than the citizens casting a vote.
Maybe it's time to deflower the process.
Does Ohio really need to change signs every four to eight years to reflect the new dog in the Governor's office? Why do cities need to spend a dime of public money, or a minute of public worker time, making sure all the parks, byways, paths and city limit signs bear the name of the Great One, no matter which Great One is in office? How is it we tolerate this type of behavior in a nation where "We the People" start our Declaration of Independence from the slavish fealty to the elite?
Isn't Akron -- and Ohio -- worth more than providing a cheap local example of what it must be like to live in North Korea, where Kim Il fill-in-the-blank holds total power?
The difference between here and there is here we elect the elite to rule so long as they follow a few basic rules which provide the appearance "they" really are more like "us". Dyer's column provides a reminder it is still up to us to remind "them" that "we" are still in charge.
Bob Dyer's column in Tuesday's Akron Beacon Journal describes a battle of benches in Clinton's Vietnam Memorial, specifically Akron's contribution. If you haven't seen the story, take the time to read it now. Take another minute to see the picture, which tells a thousand words by itself.
Imagine, as Bob notes, dozens of marble and granite benches bearing quotations of leadership, sacrifice and patriotism matched to Akron's entry -- bearing the name of the Mayor.
According to the article, the ball was dropped on South High Street by the high-thinking political types who must have imagined small-town Clinton was looking for the same thing we tolerate everyday driving into the City, passing parks and recreation areas. We've become numb to the flowering of the political name brand on the things owned by the taxpayers; we expect to see Don Plusquellic, or Don Robart, or Don Kuchta (in my neck of the woods) plastered on every entryway to the 'burg. The Man has his stamp of approval on a city or town or village as is royalty bestowed upon him the privilege of ruling the fiefdom rather than the citizens casting a vote.
Maybe it's time to deflower the process.
Does Ohio really need to change signs every four to eight years to reflect the new dog in the Governor's office? Why do cities need to spend a dime of public money, or a minute of public worker time, making sure all the parks, byways, paths and city limit signs bear the name of the Great One, no matter which Great One is in office? How is it we tolerate this type of behavior in a nation where "We the People" start our Declaration of Independence from the slavish fealty to the elite?
Isn't Akron -- and Ohio -- worth more than providing a cheap local example of what it must be like to live in North Korea, where Kim Il fill-in-the-blank holds total power?
The difference between here and there is here we elect the elite to rule so long as they follow a few basic rules which provide the appearance "they" really are more like "us". Dyer's column provides a reminder it is still up to us to remind "them" that "we" are still in charge.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Notes On The Recall
Blowout. Not even close. Over when it started. Wiped the floor with 'em.
We've got the cliche wagon pulled over and I'm sure my fellow pundits will exhaust the supply to describe Tuesday's results of the Change Akron Now bid to recall Akron's Don Plusquellic. I don't know anyone (including Warner Mendenhall) who believed CAN could DO it. Citizens For Akron ran a smart campaign -- how could they not with a 22-to-1 money advantage? CFA understood all too well the value of CYA, leaving no stone unturned, the value of a professionally-positioned "grassroots" base and effort to define issues, control the agenda and get out the vote. And they did this all without the one candidate on the ballot stepping out in front of the target painted on his back. Don Plusquellic's defense worked best when his team played offense around him.
In the end, GOTV trumps shouting from the Town Square.
The 20% turnout is nothing to be proud of, summertime or no summertime. In the end it wouldn't have mattered if half that number turned out. A 3-1 advantage spells landslide, especially when "absentee voting" -- why can't we just call it early voting? -- provided everything the anti-recall forces could have hoped for. This is the strategy executed to a "t" by Obama in 2008, by Citizens For Akron in 2009, and future politicians smart enough to understand a 30-day voting window means 30 days to win.
Even with the crushing defeat, Change Akron Now promises a slate of council candidates, one led by oh-so-close Plusquellic opponent Joe Finley in 2007. I'll be very surprised if this works, unless they learn from their defeat in June and turn it into fresh strategy for September. These next few months will see the game continue, only with surrogates now carrying the standards for both sides. Those on the outs still want their piece of those on the inside, and the incumbent machine knows all too well they cannot afford to let their guard down now.
That said, I'm still wondering if this recall election was the reaffirmation of love Mayor Plusquellic needs? Or was the vote more a reflection of what most editorials noted: not really a personal endorsement of Don Plusquellic, and all his personality brings to bear, but rather a rejection of the concept of tossing the bull out from the china shop because he hasn't broken anything?
Despite the branding of "our" mayor for "our" city, there are few who disagreed that Plusquellic's style leaves much to be desired. In between stomping around with hurt feelings after opponents questioned the obvious timing of a flood of pro-Akron announcements, cherry-picking interview opportunities -- did he do ANY radio live or long-form? -- he still managed to rub many the wrong way with behind the scene hardball which lends easily to depictions of him as "The Don." I give him great credit for the rep: he's earned it.
This isn't just my observation; the Beacon Journal, Plain Dealer, WAKR/AkronNewsNow, other bloggers, other media -- all made note of the ill-temper described as "passion" as not enough to warrant being tossed out. His own supporters, at the same time calling the vote a mandate for the mayor, also hope he learns to tamp it down; this scuffle cost a quarter-million dollars and plenty of their time. Which Don comes out of this as the smoke clears? Does he sit down and bury the hatchet with the FOP as they've asked? Will he ever talk with enemy-for-life turned anti-recall ally Don Robart again? Will he ever say the name of his chief opponent in public?
Even Obama knows how to say Cheney. The key to the next chapter in this political soap opera is whether those in support offer honest counsel and not just what he wants to hear. That a head-on approach need not be offensive to be a good offense; that being defensive need not be so offensive. That a legacy politician with an iron grip on the job can and should be satisfied everyone knows he's the driving force without having to tattoo it on their foreheads. Which Don Plusquellic will we see, the statesman elected to represent his nation's mayors or the one stepping into the ring?
This is a legitimate question, and one not so easily glossed over. As owner of the "company," Akron voters are the managers; they decided their highest performing employee gets results and needs to stay, even if he can occasionally be a real piece of work. The stakeholders want to keep him because he gets the job done. Even if he snorts and throws his weight around, so long as the dishes don't break. The main message conveyed with such clarity over the past 90 days has been he leads, even with a few scratches; Akron voters know to not mess up a good thing.
But the danger, if he allows the ego of unchecked incumbency to swell beyond his vision, is in continuing to ride that wave of performance goodwill for those times when the next big challenge comes. When a younger, fresher, more energetic version seizes the moment. When Akron's good name is finally dragged down to the level of the other northeast Ohio big cities. Those times when some with new ideas poses a real threat to more people beyond the 25-30% who always say no.
Blogger Pho's Akron Pages is no fan of Change Akron Now nor it's tilting-at-windmills leader Warner Mendenhall. His observations are pointed, but thoughtful. His post "Whither Akron" reads from the heart: who will step up and challenge the status quo, in this case Plusquellic, in the interest of confronting power? It's a core question: just how healthy is the cult of Don for Akron's function as a democracy over the long haul? Akron, Pho writes, needs a "sensible loyal opposition."
It's easy now to villify those who dare ask the question, or push the system to hold a midsummer's day vote. But even losing in a landslide, voices wondering about alternatives or even succession planning can be heard. And the conventional wisdom won't be able to drown them out forever.
- - -
A note on the media coverage of the election: what a vacuum we are seeing develop as a city of a quarter-million people boils down to a handful of outlets. Former WKYC-TV producer Chris Hyser notes correctly in his "Diminishing Returns" post the brave new world of learning results. Those good old days of multiple, competing media outlets using all the tools at their disposal have shrunk when it comes to servicing Akron. The blog world hasn't stepped in, and those outlets in a position to step up didn't show it Tuesday night.
I have a very vested interest in this; for the most part we did what we thought was best on Election night, just as the Beacon Journal did in getting results, analysis and coverage to the public. But seeing the region's second biggest city shunted aside to true suburban status on a single, important issue ought to be an eye-opener for all of us.
This was a campaign successfully managed professionally to maximize positives while minimizing risk of damage, which meant no town hall-style forums on cable, broadcast, or digital television. No Press Club luncheons at the Martin Center, where a couple hundred folks could feast on split chicken breasts as the pros and cons were delivered. This was a great example of controlling the message, and not allowing it to get messy. Using websites to position and parry, and employing social media such as Twitter and Facebook to bypass the mainstream. Who needs to sit down with Ray, or Larry, or Howie or Matt? Can't control what they ask, but you can control what others hear and read.
This is the new politics, and Akron's media landscape is not ready for what is to come.
- - -
For those who missed hunky Lt. Governor Lee Fisher's "guns," note YouTube has taken down videos containing the copyright material.
The posts are still up on this blog but you won't be able to see the buff Lee flexing over a late-night video visit while he's answering email.
The Fisher folks worked quickly to flag the video, so it's a no-no now. Fisher followers, rest easy; Brunner backers, at least you had a laugh over the last week.
Back to good government now...
We've got the cliche wagon pulled over and I'm sure my fellow pundits will exhaust the supply to describe Tuesday's results of the Change Akron Now bid to recall Akron's Don Plusquellic. I don't know anyone (including Warner Mendenhall) who believed CAN could DO it. Citizens For Akron ran a smart campaign -- how could they not with a 22-to-1 money advantage? CFA understood all too well the value of CYA, leaving no stone unturned, the value of a professionally-positioned "grassroots" base and effort to define issues, control the agenda and get out the vote. And they did this all without the one candidate on the ballot stepping out in front of the target painted on his back. Don Plusquellic's defense worked best when his team played offense around him.
In the end, GOTV trumps shouting from the Town Square.
The 20% turnout is nothing to be proud of, summertime or no summertime. In the end it wouldn't have mattered if half that number turned out. A 3-1 advantage spells landslide, especially when "absentee voting" -- why can't we just call it early voting? -- provided everything the anti-recall forces could have hoped for. This is the strategy executed to a "t" by Obama in 2008, by Citizens For Akron in 2009, and future politicians smart enough to understand a 30-day voting window means 30 days to win.
Even with the crushing defeat, Change Akron Now promises a slate of council candidates, one led by oh-so-close Plusquellic opponent Joe Finley in 2007. I'll be very surprised if this works, unless they learn from their defeat in June and turn it into fresh strategy for September. These next few months will see the game continue, only with surrogates now carrying the standards for both sides. Those on the outs still want their piece of those on the inside, and the incumbent machine knows all too well they cannot afford to let their guard down now.
That said, I'm still wondering if this recall election was the reaffirmation of love Mayor Plusquellic needs? Or was the vote more a reflection of what most editorials noted: not really a personal endorsement of Don Plusquellic, and all his personality brings to bear, but rather a rejection of the concept of tossing the bull out from the china shop because he hasn't broken anything?
Despite the branding of "our" mayor for "our" city, there are few who disagreed that Plusquellic's style leaves much to be desired. In between stomping around with hurt feelings after opponents questioned the obvious timing of a flood of pro-Akron announcements, cherry-picking interview opportunities -- did he do ANY radio live or long-form? -- he still managed to rub many the wrong way with behind the scene hardball which lends easily to depictions of him as "The Don." I give him great credit for the rep: he's earned it.
This isn't just my observation; the Beacon Journal, Plain Dealer, WAKR/AkronNewsNow, other bloggers, other media -- all made note of the ill-temper described as "passion" as not enough to warrant being tossed out. His own supporters, at the same time calling the vote a mandate for the mayor, also hope he learns to tamp it down; this scuffle cost a quarter-million dollars and plenty of their time. Which Don comes out of this as the smoke clears? Does he sit down and bury the hatchet with the FOP as they've asked? Will he ever talk with enemy-for-life turned anti-recall ally Don Robart again? Will he ever say the name of his chief opponent in public?
Even Obama knows how to say Cheney. The key to the next chapter in this political soap opera is whether those in support offer honest counsel and not just what he wants to hear. That a head-on approach need not be offensive to be a good offense; that being defensive need not be so offensive. That a legacy politician with an iron grip on the job can and should be satisfied everyone knows he's the driving force without having to tattoo it on their foreheads. Which Don Plusquellic will we see, the statesman elected to represent his nation's mayors or the one stepping into the ring?
This is a legitimate question, and one not so easily glossed over. As owner of the "company," Akron voters are the managers; they decided their highest performing employee gets results and needs to stay, even if he can occasionally be a real piece of work. The stakeholders want to keep him because he gets the job done. Even if he snorts and throws his weight around, so long as the dishes don't break. The main message conveyed with such clarity over the past 90 days has been he leads, even with a few scratches; Akron voters know to not mess up a good thing.
But the danger, if he allows the ego of unchecked incumbency to swell beyond his vision, is in continuing to ride that wave of performance goodwill for those times when the next big challenge comes. When a younger, fresher, more energetic version seizes the moment. When Akron's good name is finally dragged down to the level of the other northeast Ohio big cities. Those times when some with new ideas poses a real threat to more people beyond the 25-30% who always say no.
Blogger Pho's Akron Pages is no fan of Change Akron Now nor it's tilting-at-windmills leader Warner Mendenhall. His observations are pointed, but thoughtful. His post "Whither Akron" reads from the heart: who will step up and challenge the status quo, in this case Plusquellic, in the interest of confronting power? It's a core question: just how healthy is the cult of Don for Akron's function as a democracy over the long haul? Akron, Pho writes, needs a "sensible loyal opposition."
Unlike the fairly universal acknowledgments of Plusquellic's prickly personality, this isn't a concerned aimed at him as a manager, a political leader, or as a person. Few of the serious thinkers in this debate disagree in private that more open debate and decision-making is a bad thing. We just want it to mean something, and drive the community forward in ways that Cleveland and Youngstown just can't seem to figure out. We know Akron is too progressive to be considered a fiefdom, but we fear losing the iron will to fight to keep the train running on time will mean we will be lost having to do it without the conductor ahead.
It's easy now to villify those who dare ask the question, or push the system to hold a midsummer's day vote. But even losing in a landslide, voices wondering about alternatives or even succession planning can be heard. And the conventional wisdom won't be able to drown them out forever.
- - -
A note on the media coverage of the election: what a vacuum we are seeing develop as a city of a quarter-million people boils down to a handful of outlets. Former WKYC-TV producer Chris Hyser notes correctly in his "Diminishing Returns" post the brave new world of learning results. Those good old days of multiple, competing media outlets using all the tools at their disposal have shrunk when it comes to servicing Akron. The blog world hasn't stepped in, and those outlets in a position to step up didn't show it Tuesday night.
I have a very vested interest in this; for the most part we did what we thought was best on Election night, just as the Beacon Journal did in getting results, analysis and coverage to the public. But seeing the region's second biggest city shunted aside to true suburban status on a single, important issue ought to be an eye-opener for all of us.
This was a campaign successfully managed professionally to maximize positives while minimizing risk of damage, which meant no town hall-style forums on cable, broadcast, or digital television. No Press Club luncheons at the Martin Center, where a couple hundred folks could feast on split chicken breasts as the pros and cons were delivered. This was a great example of controlling the message, and not allowing it to get messy. Using websites to position and parry, and employing social media such as Twitter and Facebook to bypass the mainstream. Who needs to sit down with Ray, or Larry, or Howie or Matt? Can't control what they ask, but you can control what others hear and read.
This is the new politics, and Akron's media landscape is not ready for what is to come.
- - -
For those who missed hunky Lt. Governor Lee Fisher's "guns," note YouTube has taken down videos containing the copyright material.The posts are still up on this blog but you won't be able to see the buff Lee flexing over a late-night video visit while he's answering email.
The Fisher folks worked quickly to flag the video, so it's a no-no now. Fisher followers, rest easy; Brunner backers, at least you had a laugh over the last week.
Back to good government now...
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Pry's Perfect Planning
We aren't even into the 2007 General Election and already it's fun to check out the early sniping between the Akron Lords of the Ring.
Russ Pry will announce tomorrow (Wednesday -- AkronNewsNow story here) he will try to make appointed elected with a run for the Summit County Executive job. He's been in the post since Jim McCarthy retired last summer, holding down not only the top county post but also holding on to the Democratic Party chairmanship.
Nice work if you can get it, and so far Pry's done a nice job of showing the doubters (myself included) that he's got a pretty good handle on not only talking the talk but also walking the walk. Pry's not only got the look down but he projects the leadership style folks look for in an executive-level post in the time he's been running the show. He clearly has a style different than McCarthy's rough-and-tumble moving up the ladder: Pry is smoother, appears to work more on building consensus and he hasn't missed many opportunities to build on those relationships as a constant presence on major political issues such as CSB, the Urban League's new headquarters building, trying to find the peace over management of the Summit County Fairgrounds and even tackling animal control.
By the way, the County is still doing it's water and sewer and economic development thing, too.
Folks expecting missteps have yet to be rewarded; so far no snide wars involving some of the more mercurial members of County Council. Pry gets high marks from other county elected officials, including GOP office holders in an environment where serving as County Executive usually means wearing a target on your chest because you control the flow of dough. Summit County is unique; the only county in Ohio with a charter government, one where a legislative body works with an executive branch (what a novel thought).
There's one job Pry's been holding that preps him well for 2008's election shenanigans now that his name's on a ballot a couple hundred thousand voters will decide on: a member of the Summit County Elections Board.
The Beacon Journal got some pithy thoughts from GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff's (Yin to Pry's Yang on paper even though it's really seen as an Alex v. Wayne Jones fight) on Pry's plans. Arshinkoff says Pry's been acting "like a Democratic officeholder" for his first 100 days.
No kidding, Alex -- Pry has been the Democratic officeholder, and with a reported $100k already in the kitty and the likelihood of banking even more makes him a strong opponent for any Republican. Or Democrat who thinks they can take him for a spin in the March primary.
Regardless of how he got there he's the incumbent, which is golden in a year of presidential and congressional politics. So long as Pry doesn't stumble, so long as there's no negatives, so long as there's no scandal it'll be tough for opponents to tag him as a rookie (not true since July) or too partisan (talk to the GOP'ers who govern with him) to force a change.
Shy of big names such as a Robart (unlikely) or a Coughlin (now waging a fight to the death with Alex for the GOP committee) there isn't a long line of Republican candidates in the wings ready for a bruising battle with the Democratic machine behind a well-financed incumbent -- even if he hasn't won a single election for the job he's holding.
Russ Pry will announce tomorrow (Wednesday -- AkronNewsNow story here) he will try to make appointed elected with a run for the Summit County Executive job. He's been in the post since Jim McCarthy retired last summer, holding down not only the top county post but also holding on to the Democratic Party chairmanship.
Nice work if you can get it, and so far Pry's done a nice job of showing the doubters (myself included) that he's got a pretty good handle on not only talking the talk but also walking the walk. Pry's not only got the look down but he projects the leadership style folks look for in an executive-level post in the time he's been running the show. He clearly has a style different than McCarthy's rough-and-tumble moving up the ladder: Pry is smoother, appears to work more on building consensus and he hasn't missed many opportunities to build on those relationships as a constant presence on major political issues such as CSB, the Urban League's new headquarters building, trying to find the peace over management of the Summit County Fairgrounds and even tackling animal control.
By the way, the County is still doing it's water and sewer and economic development thing, too.
Folks expecting missteps have yet to be rewarded; so far no snide wars involving some of the more mercurial members of County Council. Pry gets high marks from other county elected officials, including GOP office holders in an environment where serving as County Executive usually means wearing a target on your chest because you control the flow of dough. Summit County is unique; the only county in Ohio with a charter government, one where a legislative body works with an executive branch (what a novel thought).
There's one job Pry's been holding that preps him well for 2008's election shenanigans now that his name's on a ballot a couple hundred thousand voters will decide on: a member of the Summit County Elections Board.
The Beacon Journal got some pithy thoughts from GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff's (Yin to Pry's Yang on paper even though it's really seen as an Alex v. Wayne Jones fight) on Pry's plans. Arshinkoff says Pry's been acting "like a Democratic officeholder" for his first 100 days.
No kidding, Alex -- Pry has been the Democratic officeholder, and with a reported $100k already in the kitty and the likelihood of banking even more makes him a strong opponent for any Republican. Or Democrat who thinks they can take him for a spin in the March primary.
Regardless of how he got there he's the incumbent, which is golden in a year of presidential and congressional politics. So long as Pry doesn't stumble, so long as there's no negatives, so long as there's no scandal it'll be tough for opponents to tag him as a rookie (not true since July) or too partisan (talk to the GOP'ers who govern with him) to force a change.
Shy of big names such as a Robart (unlikely) or a Coughlin (now waging a fight to the death with Alex for the GOP committee) there isn't a long line of Republican candidates in the wings ready for a bruising battle with the Democratic machine behind a well-financed incumbent -- even if he hasn't won a single election for the job he's holding.
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